Hopeless Vengeance
by Hastranys
Summary: Years past the fall of Institute of War, Renekton searches for his brother, whom disappeared leaving no clues behind. While looking for him, his remaining sanity works out how to fill the void left behind. Cover by gaby14link - deviantart.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Eventually, I'll remake this chapter cause Piltover and Zaun deserves more attention. ******I welcome any criticism about whatever you think isnt good. ****

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><p>Your once shiny scales are now covered in gore. And you don't even bother to get clean, even though you are near a lake. The sun is warm and… somehow, Its unsettling. If you could die of boredom, you would be long gone. Trying to gather the will to get up, you end up rolling, and sink in the water, and float, but for how long? You aren't sure. Finally, you get up and muster the strength to gather your weapon, dropped near a few inches of vegetation. No way are you letting your weapon get rusty cause you got too lazy. With utmost care, you wash the blade and admire the edge. As soon its done, you turn to the remains of clothes and blood and cracked bones and flesh and trashed metal and what once was human. Bothersome beings, but it was fun for a while. Whoever they were, it was a good meal.<p>

The wind pick ups speed and a sandstorm rise in the horizon. Oh well, better enjoy the water since in no time, it wont be longer here. But first, you loot the bodies, before diving deep. Eventually, you emerge, and like a true reptilian, keep your head slightly out of the water. Eyes closed, you go over your memories of your last adventures…

Fields of Justice no longer exist. Some kind of tragedy, accident, you are not sure exactly what, devastated everything it once was. You were too busy in Zaun, using the sewers as your home, having your silly fun, playing around with Twitch. Anyway, there are no longer summoners and the city states are bickering, warring pointless battles against each other. Still afraid of the last rune war, that's solely why everything isn't gone, yet.

It's only a matter of time, you think.

But it doesn't matter. You lost track of your brother. Vengeance is out of reach. Damn, you don't even know if he is dead or alive. Who cares about that? Apparently, only you do.

You travel, but It has brought no results, not a single clue about your sibling...

In no time, all that rage became frustration. And surprisingly, It becomes perseverance. Patience, you think. And repeats it like a mantra.

You ended settling up in Piltover for a while, hoping to find something to catch your interest. Well, Jinx and Vi keep going around, like nothing changed at all. Somehow, its relaxing to see the destruction they bring on their fights. You stay for a while, decides to research – such a thing that your brother used to do, but you? Hah.

Few years later, you realize that all that effort to learn about their technology, only to find out how useless it is for what you want. Amusing, but a huge waste of time. Eventually, you drop it and depart. It's a wonder how long you kept quiet, in low profile, as an oversized gecko. You didn't even kill mindlessly as you would like to, you were even… civilized, somehow. Really, It is a feat to behold.

Finally, you leave Piltover, travels to Zaun, only to waste another couple of years with useless research. It's not like alchemy will help.

Maybe the undead on Shadow Isles can help you with your search. But you decide to pay a visit to the old Institute of War, or the remains of it.

Maybe you are sane again – all those years without any trace of your brother in your life surely did wonders.

Maybe. Then, come again, why are you on Shurima Desert?


	2. Smothering Sensations

Mind is a tricky thing. Eludes you with so many things, but hope is your greatest enemy. Slowly, you try to remember why you are here. Some false sense of security, relief, familiarity, despair and bitter memories took you here. You don't remember how the visit to the Institute of War went. You hardly remember how you got where you are, with confusing thoughts plaguing your mind.

And then, air.

Lack of, more specifically.

It's hard to think straight when you can't breathe and chastise yourself for realizing too late. Perhaps you are suicidal or a very talented idiot for taking a nap underwater with a sandstorm coming. Still, you fight for your dear life, cursing the weight of your weapon. It's not like the first time you got trapped on quicksand or the likes. Anyway, the details aren't important now, as you struggle to reach surface. You swallow sand, gasp for the air that isn't there, panics, and rages. For whatever gods that are out there, wait, you are nearly a god yourself! Refusing to have such a stupid death, you growl, commanding your death trap to move as a whirlpool and magic runs and boils through your body. The turmoil increase, you grow, till you roar against the sand and finally feel free to breath. Coughing sand, your meal and bile, you finally manage an intake of air. But it hurts, and you cough again, the pain getting worse. Again, you growl, but the sandstorm is still raging. You take your enemy head on, roaring, cursing and slashing the air with your weapon, lost on a maddened frenzy. You go on for who know for how long, till you are exhausted and your surroundings calm down.

You black out.

The sun is long gone when you awake. Cold threatens you, but it isn't a worthy adversary, so you pay it no mind. You are alive, that is what matters. Getting up, you decide to continue your travel. Using the stars as your guide, you take off, not sure where your destiny is, as long you are far away from this cursed land, your homeland.

You lost track of time.

Relying on your immortality to go on, the sun does it work, nearly frying you alive, if you weren't used to this. Slowly, the scenery chances, from the blazing sun and golden sand to a darker land. Grass spreads out and tree rises from the ground, taller, harder. Even the ground seems to have become stone.

Voodoo lands, not a great place to be.

However, you decide to pay the Dark Child a visit. Well, maybe Annie isn't a child anymore, after all, losing track of time make such things hard to tell. But it's not like it will stop you. It never held you back before.

To find the human colony wasn't a hard task, but people aren't too willing to let a giant crocodile walk around freely. In your defense, they attacked first. Those stinking humans, with rotten hearts and misunderstandings, are no match for you. Easy, easy. But you aren't here to dwell into a senseless bloodbath, even though you enjoy it. Too much for your own good, but it's not like you will ever admit it out loud.

Never.

But it does the trick, and the Dark Child comes to meet you. And it burns, cursed be that bear of hers. Stunned with the fireworks raining down, you manage to steal a glance at her. She's slightly older, but nowhere near an adult. How long has it been? Five years, at most. She is giggling like a maniac, like a lovely kindred soul.

Oddly enough, It takes you out of your stupor.

Admiring the girl behavior, you dive into the flames and slash and dice through the blazing stuffed bear, reaching her, only to be welcomed by a fireball right on your face. Tibbers is catching up, but you don't give up on your pursuit, slashing the flames surrounding her and cutting her shoulder. You reach for her throat, paying no mind to the blazing scales and the pain, as the adrenaline takes over your senses.

The bear, which was slashing at your back, vanishes, and you watch her eyes grow in horror as she tries to breathe. A mocking laugh leaves your lips as you finally manage to say something.

"I came here to talk, child."

Truth be told, it took an otherworldly effort to spill those words without killing her along the line. You let her go, only to face flames cascading upon you. It takes every ounce of willpower you have to hit her with the dull side of your blade, in quick three strikes. She finally falls unconscious, and you realize that you hit her too hard.

She will survive.

But by the second day, you aren't so sure. Well, she is still breathing, but haven't woken up since that clash. You hack your brain for things to do to help her survive, in vain. You never needed to think about saving a life. Somehow, luck is on your side, and against all odds, she wakes up upon the fourth day. It's hard to gather food on a petrified forest, but you manage to find water.

The entire wait wasn't worth the trouble. She knows little to nothing – which isn't true at all, but for you, is same as useless trivia.

Well.

Time to hit the road again.


	3. Haunted

It's been a while since you decided to simply sit and enjoy the numb members of your body. Your arm aches every time you think about doing something with it. Since your battle with Annie, you feel sore and your injuries haven't healed yet. And, to make things better, you're totally lost. After sometime wandering, you decided to rely on your senses, except vision, to get out of this damned place. Till you finally see mountains, lots of.

Since you don't feel like climbing anything on the near future, you try to border the mountains. On your walk, you remember how the Dark Child was when you left: several broken bones, bruised and a blood mess around her chest and shoulder. Well, at least her legs aren't broken, so she can go back home. Or that oversized teddy bear of her can do the job.

Eventually, you make out of the stone forest only to face the scalding desert again. Great, back to this cursed place…

But something is off. You can't tell exactly what, however you can feel it. As soon you go deep on this land, wind whispers your fears, howl strangled screams, claim your nightmares to rise and join you on the world of the living. The atmosphere is oppressive and you can't feel like resting is an option. So, you walk till exhaustion and keep going on, regardless of how bad you feel. Night falls and it manages to get even worst, and you wonder how it is possible. But at least, you are sure you aren't in Shurima desert because there's nothing like this, not that you know.

After several days walking (and lost again), you start to have visions. Disturbing visions and all that they have in common is your brother death. First, He is killed by a rock slide when the Institute falls. Second, somebody you can't see kills him and it keeps going, till you see yourself being killed by his ghost. And the last is you and him killing each other in the afterlife. You awaken, startled, and realize that you ended falling sleep while you where walking. The full moon shines and it doesn't make sense. It's like the stars are making an effort to prank you. Afar, you see a building, but its nothing like what you have ever seen.

As soon you are able to see properly, you scream. You panic. You feel terrorized beyond your wildest dreams and its clear where the fuck you are: Icatia. The entrance for the Void creatures to your world, as you recall. Turning your back to that hell hole, you run as fast as you can away from that place, paying no mind to where are you going, as long it's away from there.

You nearly cry of emotion when you reach those mountains again and happily climb them, laughing like a madman. You made it! Out of that frightening place, free to live without being haunted by the Void. As you reach the summit, the sun rises and you can't help but enjoy the view. Thinking about what you went through, you think that you must have lost all your sanity long ago. No way somebody could see Icatia and escape unscathed. Maybe it was just a hallucination caused by the exhaustion and restless nights. Or so you hope. You fall asleep, basking in the warm light, wishing that it will wash away your worries and fears.

And you dream again, but you can't yell at all those ghosts whom threaten to consume you.


	4. Bad Trip

A sharp pain bring you back to consciousness, and you notice that you are far from of you remember dropping for a nap. There is blood, but not enough to be worrisome, just a headache. Idly on the ground, you start to nip grass, or whatever that vegetation is.

Soon enough, you realize the mistakes of your ways.

The sensation recalls when you accidentally drank the Zaun's sewer, what, you painfully remember, left you days throwing up food, ooze and blood. Among other unpleasant things, you nearly gave birth to another Zac yourself.

At the beginning, you taste the air, hear the temperature, and see smells and you aren't making any freaking sense, as colors change to impossible palettes on a whim and the forms and the temperature and you don't even know anymore where your limbs are, even though you were pretty sure you haven't moved an inch since this begun.

At least isn't another fucking nightmare, for now. You have a gut feeling that this relief surely won't last long.

You roll and go all on fours to who knows where, but the world dances and distances changes and you stumble and jump (you are not sure how) and you laugh excited while you fall and tumble and even your weapon decides to compliment to you.

Wait.

IT talked. With an unmistakable childish voice, oddly familiar to you, however, it's not like you can recall where you heard it before. Not on your state. No, not that fluffy ball of doom and poison and goddamnit explosive shaped mushrooms…

"I SWEAR YOU WILL SUFFER A GRUESOME DEATH"

You weapon disagrees, and tell you are mistaken. The voice changes to a tone deafening high pinch that makes you want to pierce your eardrums out for good and you try to run away from it, but it's your beloved weapon, you can't do it, why oh cruel world, why?

And you fly. But this doesn't stop you, and you use your cleaver or whatever you call it to crawl or swim through the air. Anyway, a cold sensation takes over your stomach and you crash on a soft sharp fluffy whatheheckisthishit?! You can't feel your legs anymore. You exhale pain and take a sharp intake of air, only to cough and you turn around or the world is again moving on its own volition. You aren't able to keep your head still but something clearly lands on you. And it tastes terrible.

You faint.

Awakening doesn't bring any clarifications as the world still is a raging madness but, you see something hovering upon you, maybe a fly. You try to bite it, but it nimbly dodges and laughs at your misfortune.

Great, another talkative incoherence.

You sigh, and it keeps going on about how you look terrible. You answer it with a tired grumble and mumbles about how you weren't able to rest lately. It decides to change the topic about how the weather looks incredible today, even though it looks like its raining acid and you don't feel wet, or anything at all. Your tongue hangs out your mouth as you taste the air.

Finally, something feels good. And it taste purple.

You think it out loud and a joyful giggle reaches your ears. She says – she? Well, somebody suggests a nap is welcome now. You obey without a second though.

Latter, world seem to have settled with ordinary looks and your neck is twisted in an unpleasant way. And you have some broken bones. Okay, several broken bones. Somehow, you made it out of the mountains, with a pretty daredevil fall. It explains a lot, and you struggle to let your body in a less painful position without success. As your option range from lay down and nothing to do beyond it, you enjoy the boredom. Now that you think about it, your high had a presence looming around you in the end.

And it finally hits you.

You are lonely.


	5. Daydreams, Part 1

**A/N: This arc was supposed to be one chapter, but as I'm incapable of making a single chapter that goes beyond 1k words (for unknown cough*lazyness*cough reasons), I'm afraid it will last more 2 or 3 chapters, at least. Enjoy. Another A/N by the end, btw.**

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><p>Solemn, your conscious go back and forth ordinary to psychedelic surroundings and you gravitates between dreams and reality – but it's hard to tell each other apart. Alas, this matters not, because you found a pattern. Disturbing one, but nonetheless the same, as you somehow move to another places (without doing a thing) and times passes at an alarming speed. You don't even try anymore to identify where you could be, but it's always near an ever green place when it's looks reasonable.<p>

And that presence feels so palpable right now, with seldom words, that you start to take a liking. Assurance floods your senses as you know that, soon or later, it will be there, right beside you, while you heal. The process is taking longer than usual, and you wonder if your scrambled notions are the reason behind.

Squirrel!

When the food makes its way, letting it escape isn't an option, as you chase it as best as you can. Unfortunately, you drag yourself around and that makes a turtle feels fast. Obviously, you fail miserably to reach it meanwhile a (very odd one) butterfly crosses your way and a stick pokes your useless members. You groan in protest as your prey goes away and you pain no mind to whatever is bothering you, strong willed about resting again.

No such luck.

Her voice echoes an unspeakable question and the scenery changes again – well, before it happened between your rests, not when you were aware.

The world is bigger than normal.

Or maybe you are smaller than usual.

Details, details. At least you can move now, but you are not sure where to. Furry ears poke out of a downcast pointy hat, and you are unable to tell apart any other relevant features. You gingerly approaches her, also curious about that so ever constant creature on your life lately.

As you are finally able to see her face, she offers you a sad smile and her smalls arms goes for an unwanted hug. Well, it's not like you can't avoid it, not when…

SQUIRREL!

Curses, worst, squealing noises, makes the way out of your mouth as you realize that you are a critter petted by a yordle. You are dumbstruck, frozen in place after the realization hit you like a mother fucking cavalry.

But she notices it, and is hurt all the same. Gently, she puts you on the ground and sits with a loud "Hmph".

It takes some time to process information again and gather you thoughts, and squealing noises happens again. You didn't mean to let her down. Not when she was the reason you weren't haunted by your nightmares and crushing solitude who threatened to make you a sobbing mess.

Once more, you approach her, this time more certain as you hop your way on her leg. She is slightly confused and you act as nice as you can, reaching your paw to her hand and tapping it lightly.

The last time you did something like this, you were sane, still loved your brother and wasn't trapped for what felt like an eternity with a criminal for a better good.

It is… odd.

And it brings water to your eyes. Valiant battle occurs as you fight it back, shaking off the nostalgia that only empathy can bring.

She notices it, beams a smile that nearly blinds you and hugs you again.

She holds your neck, and you are sprawled on the floor surprised to feel yourself whole again. You hug her back and it's like you are holding a plush toy, glad to bask on each other embrace. Even the floating thing joins you and, out of embarrassment, you put her down, finally recognizing her. You already fought together on the Fields of Justice and even when you were settled against you couldn't understand her playful ways.

A mask to hide the pain… You used your fury, she smiled even after her banishment from her homeland. Out of time, out of place, but still, always forward, a remarkable deed. Or so you think.

You envy her.

Even now, you can't let go of your rage, your desire to finish your business with your brother, rancor stored for ages, going for an uncertain future, with the so important piece missing.

Well, you already knew you needed help and it looks like it found your way. You invite her to join you on your quest, only to be denied by an energetic "Nope". Inquiring why, she answers with how she doesn't gain anything from it aside – she jumps on your back – a ride.

…

"No way."

The Fae sorceress shrugged, even though you can't see her clearly, you can feel it. You proceed to take her out and she manages to stay out of reach, resulting in a strange dance with her going all over you, with you failing miserably to get her away.

"Get off"

"No deal"

Exhausted, you think of your options. It's not like you will cross an ally anytime soon, so better make it reasonable.

"Give me some time and I'll make you an offer. In a week, we meet here again. How does it sound?"

She smiles, hops on her stick and vanishes on thin air. And so does her companion, Pix.

Satisfied, you go after what you need to convince her.

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><p><strong>AN: **Well, since I got a question, I'll try to explain here without spoiling too much the story.  
>If you take a look at Runeterra's map, its pretty easy to see where Renekton is and if you look at Lulu's background, I believe it will be pretty understandable, the whole situation. Or so I hope.<strong>**


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